Western European HRM: reactions and adjustment to crises

This chapter shows that there are many pressures on European multinational corporations (MNCs) to design their Human Resource Management (HRM) configurations in ways that facilitate both the globalization of their people management function, each of which may be characterized by different patterns of continuity and change. It presents a mezzo-level perspective, with mezzo being defined as the middle level. The chapter identifies a series of cross-national trends and developments that are also intimately linked to organizational level responses. It focuses on the various contributions that are to come and signal why and in what ways the discussions that they raise are important for the field. The chapter includes five International Human Resource (IHRM) issues: developments in the not for profit (NfP) sector, the impact of HRM in overseas MNCs operating within Europe, the pursuit of corporate responsibility strategies, demographic trends in relation to age and diversity, and international migration.